September 2003 Archives

September 30

The Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced on Thursday. Two candidates with buzz this year are Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said, better known as Adonis, and New Zealand novelist-memoirist Janet Frame. Other candidates frequently mentioned include JM Coetzee, Philip Roth, Inger Christensen, Tomas Transtroemer, Margaret Atwood and Carlos Fuentes.posted by Daze at 11:14 PM PST - 20 comments

The Shark That Won't Be Caged: everyone knows the Carcharodon carcharias--usually by its popularized name The Great White Shark--but not many people have ever seen one, due to the fact that one has never survived for any significant length of time in captivity. Until recently, it was thought that the shark's sensitivity to electrical fields was the culprit, but an aquarium in Monterey Bay is out to prove that theory wrong (additional stories on attempt:1, 2). A previous, accidental capture of a Great White in a tuna net off the coast of South Australia suggests that it could be possible if the stress level can be kept low enough.posted by The God Complex at 9:31 PM PST - 14 comments

Journalists say off the record "it was Karl Rove that I spoke to..." (RealPlayer)
Julian Borger of the Guardian reveals that several journalists have revealed "off the record" that Karl Rove revealed the identity of the CIA operative, but that the reporters aren't publicly admitting it, in order to protect their source. But aren't they also material witnesses to a federal crime? Does not revealing their source make them accessories to that crime?posted by insomnia_lj at 7:49 PM PST - 51 comments

Spam: This Time It's Personal. Andy Markley was really looking forward to a work-free Labor Day weekend far away from his computer. But he made the mistake of checking his inbox before he left for his planned holiday.posted by lola at 5:24 PM PST - 32 comments

Money Saving Expert is a site for UKians, to play the credit card game and win, save tax, understand consumer rights, and generally be more savvy in all things fiscal.posted by Blue Stone at 5:19 PM PST - 2 comments

Vaseline Glass is a particular color of yellow-green glass that is made by adding 2% Uranium Dioxide to the ingredients when the glass formula is made. The addition of the Uranium Dioxide makes the glass color yellow-green. A 'magnificent obsession' site crammed with images and information on art glass, novelties, collector themes, and manufacturers.posted by quonsar at 4:49 PM PST - 11 comments

'24'. Violent content. Complaint not upheld. The British Standards Council (BSC) publish their findings on a regular basis, as they explain which complaints by members of the public regarding the 'offensive' content of some programmes on TV and radio have been upheld or not. This is fascinating for two reasons -- we get to see what people actually moan about and also how the various stations have to justify their output -- some seem more successful at it than others... [pdf format file via Whedonesque]posted by feelinglistless at 3:38 PM PST - 11 comments

Build your own Howard Dean website! The Dean campaign has released web site "kits" under the GNU GPL and based on the Drupal codebase, which allow web-based communities to quickly and easily build their own sites to support Dean's campaign. Last night, he held a conference call with over 3,500 "house parties" and individuals to spread the word. If Dean gets the nomination, he'll have technology to thank for it.
(yeah, via slashdot.)posted by jpoulos at 1:32 PM PST - 28 comments

This new film [25MB, QuickTime] documents the 3rd annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race, in which a bunch of crazed fools raced headlong down San Francisco's Lombard Street (aka: the crookedest street in the world) on Big Wheels. Good drunk fun! Here are some pics for the bandwidth-challenged.posted by scarabic at 11:12 AM PST - 22 comments

Madonna's being sued for stealing images from Guy Boudin's photography and using them in her Hollywood video. Here are side by sides. When does imitation/homage become theft? And who gets to decide? Should she have been sued for using this image in her vogue video?posted by archimago at 9:14 AM PST - 86 comments

Campaign populism, Bush style As democrats raise money online and galvanize grass-roots support, the Bush campaign is becoming responsive to regular people as well. Perhaps you have been wondering about some of the protocol for everyday folks like yourself to show your support for the President. [more inside]posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 9:06 AM PST - 22 comments

The Subpoenas are Coming! The FBI, in an attempt to prosecute Adrian Lamo (discussed here) is sending letters to journalists telling them to secretly prepare to turn over their notes, e-mails and sources to the bureau. And by secretly, they mean don't tell your colleagues, editors or lawyers, or risk facing obstruction of justice charges. (Via dailyrotten)posted by Officeslacker at 6:25 AM PST - 11 comments

Boston Herald sports reporter outs himself in print and asks why people in the world of sports still have to hide. Frankly, I'm out because I can't come up with a single logical reason why I should have denied myself the right to live and work as openly and freely as everyone else. Nor should anyone find a reason why an openly gay athlete should be denied the right to play a team sport without fear of becoming a target of prejudice or physical harm. See Outsports for more info on the subject, and an interesting pro and con on whether gay baseball players should come out.posted by amberglow at 6:23 AM PST - 59 comments

British bachelors beware. Rachel Greenwald knows how to find a husband using
the techniques of Harvard Business School, and she's
bringing her methods to the UK. But it's not easy:
she advocates careful 'packaging', putting 10 to 20% of total income into
a separate 'find a husband' bank account,
cancelling newspaper subscriptions so they can be read in
public and getting a third party to contact unsuccessful dates for feedback.
There's one change for the UK though: here it's aimed at over-30s
instead of the over-35s. I always thought "the Rules" were too spontaneous.posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:48 AM PST - 40 comments

smallpox vs. aids: the pandemic smackdown!! Researchers are [very, very cautiously] suggesting there might be a link between the end of smallpox vaccinations in the early 1980s and the rise of HIV. Pinwheel, in the RFID thread: "All I can say is that it's a great time to be a lazy paranoid schizophrenic--modern society is doing all of the work for you."posted by jengod at 5:49 PM PST - 24 comments

My Mixtapes is a site for users of emusic. Members can post album reviews, create mixtapes, and compile thematic lists of albums, all with direct links to the songs or albums so that subscribers to the mp3 service can download directly "via" my mixtapes.posted by dobbs at 1:33 PM PST - 6 comments

Décolleté takes you on a fascinating guided tour of decapitation through the ages that covers biblical head severers Judith and Salome, the hapless victims of the Tudor axe, as well as the dreaded guillotine. Site contains some mild artistic gore, but nothing too horrendous.posted by MrBaliHai at 1:07 PM PST - 3 comments

Is This All There Is To Modern Design? Although Design Within Reach is a commercial website, it's well put together, with interesting features that provide biographies and a a potted history of modern furniture design. However, like the plethora of coffee-table books on the subject, the uncomfortable (!) feeling remains that it crystalizes the accepted and the historical - the so-called modern classics - rather than engage with what is truly contemporary. This is, after all, highly traditional modernism and post-modernism. And it's rife. Where is the avant-garde? Is there one on view to ordinary mortals? You end up feeling that the truly new designs - this century's, after all - are being swept under the carpet, awaiting some boring committee process of consensus and approval.posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:59 AM PST - 35 comments

Drug War Victims."Increasingly, people are dying because of the tactics of the drug war. Military operations are being conducted on our soil, and collateral damage is inevitable... Every now and then, a death happens that is particularly grotesque -- that points out the horrific folly of our actions. This page presents some of those deaths." This is part of the Drug WarRant blog. [Via TalkLeft.]posted by homunculus at 9:25 AM PST - 41 comments

What software version numbers really mean. Not sure who started the latest trend of dropping version numbers from software. We could always blame Microsoft with Windows ME . But Macromedia is at fault too with the whole MX thing. And MX doesn't even stand for anything. Now Adobe is getting into the mix. There will be no Photoshop 8 or Illustrator 11. Just CS . So is this a good thing? Version numbers may not be exciting but it sure did make it easy to keep track of the latest upgrade.posted by jeremias at 7:14 AM PST - 42 comments

The Fanimatrix is an amazing zero-budget amateur MATRIX film made by some great folks in Auckland, NZ. Finally, somebody gets it - The Matrix is an action film.posted by anser at 6:42 AM PST - 23 comments

SkyHigh Airlines is one of the funniest, most well done and fleshed out parody sites I've seen on the web.
Try everything, plan a trip (notice the luxurious ports of call they fly into), track your lost luggage - oh hell, just click everything, you'll be glad you did. Even the Chairman's letter is funny.posted by Dome-O-Rama at 5:09 PM PST - 22 comments

A little Iraqi girl -- no more than eight years old -- squatted beside the road with tears of humiliation streaming down her cheeks.
Twenty feet away, three American soldiers had their rifles aimed at her as she was forced to relieve herself in full view of a long line of parked cars. From inside their vehicles, the Iraqi onlookers screamed their rage at the U.S. troops.
Whenever one of the Iraqis ventured to step out of his vehicle, an American officer bellowed, "Get back in the car, a--hole!" and the .50-calibre machinegun mounted on the U.S. Hummer would swing menacingly toward the protester.posted by tpoh.org at 1:18 PM PST - 116 comments

Freeland's We Want Your Soul video is a cynical look at the american dream and keeping up with the joneses. Whether you agree with the point of view, it's still a pretty cool and amusing use of camera effects. (note: large quicktime on that page) [via randomfoo]posted by mathowie at 12:00 PM PST - 14 comments

Rupert Murdoch, The Guardian Newspaper Group, magazine group IPC (and others) have formed an unlikely coalition, the British Internet Providers Association, in order to do one thing: decimate the BBC Online website, and protect their own online ventures. They demand that "BBC Online should be scaled back to being a 'news portal' and...should release its internet source code to commercial organisations." Spin-off projects such as iCan, the grassroots political site which the BBC is set to launch in October, would be trashed, and the BBC's use of its website to promote programmes, magazines and services would be restricted. In addition the BBC would face a cost ceiling on
its online budget and be forced to "provide links to the news services of its competitors."
The Governement's closing date for submissions to the BBC Online review is November 17th, 2003.posted by Blue Stone at 10:41 AM PST - 32 comments

The 24 Hour Hitch. Howell Parry, a student at Manchester in the early 90s, undertook three fund-raising 24-Hr Hitchhikes with the aim of getting as far as possible. Parry kept logs of his second and third trips (the first hadn't been too successful, getting only as far as London). Nomadic Simes, a wandering web designer, presents hitchhiking tips. See also history's hitchhiking record holders.posted by nthdegx at 10:37 AM PST - 6 comments

Yes, We're The Mini*Pops! For a few brief, shining years in the 80s the Mini*Pops were the ne plus ultra of every pre-adolescent's rock star fantasies. From the classic Mini*Pops, to the haunting Mini*Pops Let's Dance, to everyone's seasonal favourite Mini*Pops Christmas, the Mini*Pops embodied the hopes and dreams of pedophiles children everywhere. Of course, no retrospective of the Mini*Pops would be complete without listening to their bastardization of tribute to Abba.posted by filmgoerjuan at 10:26 AM PST - 12 comments

You can join the effort to demand truly secure voting systems at VerifiedVoting.Org by David L. Dill, a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. Go team.posted by troutfishing at 8:26 AM PST - 35 comments

Medical histories of American Presidents - Washington "exuded such masculine power as frightens young women just wakening to the opposite sex." Jefferson had all his teeth when he died at 84. Wilson's handshake was described as "a ten-cent pickled mackerel in brown paper." Taft was once laid up for a few days after a bug flew into his eye. Facts & trivia about presidential health.posted by madamjujujive at 7:12 AM PST - 15 comments

Italy-wide blackout ongoing I'm right in the middle of a nation wide blackout. 2 hours without electricity so far, luckly sunrise is near. Guess now I know what they guys in U.S. East coast has felt. Link goes to italian language realtime news on event, for interested italians abroad.posted by elpapacito at 8:36 PM PST - 22 comments

The Spirits Of The Times: Whatever's Next? In an unstable marketplace, good old spirits have been undergoing an extraordinary renaissance since 1988, with 2003 the best year yet. And growing. With summer over and thoughts turning to the more warming libations, I wonder what the next big drinking craze will be. My bets are on the wonderful, underrated fruit brandies, distilled directly from fruit juices with nothing else added: kirsch, framboise, mirabelle. Mmmm... The best eaux-de-vie, in my experience, are those from G. E. Massenez and above all (though they're quite expensive and alcoholic) from the Swiss Paul Morand distillery. (Flash req.) An ice-cold Williamine, served in a shot glass surrounded by an old-fashioned tumbler full of shaved ice: oh what bliss on an autumn night, after a late dinner with old friends!posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:57 PM PST - 12 comments

Cleveland Press Shakespeare Photographs Er, no, not photographs of Shakespeare--that would be difficult--but of Shakespeare's plays in performance, 1870-1982. Covers productions in all media; photographs can be browsed by dramatic genre (tragedy, comedy, etc.). On a related note, see also Harry Rusche's Shakespeare Illustrated (outstanding and extensive site devoted to nineteenth-century paintings of scenes from Shakespeare's plays).posted by thomas j wise at 9:47 AM PST - 6 comments

"Sick Nick" is a cartoon blog by Nikahang Kowsar, the Iranian cartoonist. He drew a cartoon that could be interpreted as an insult to a top cleric, therefore he was arrested and the paper was closed down. He now lives in Toronto, fearing of going back to Iran.posted by hoder at 4:00 AM PST - 5 comments

September 26

CIA Seeks Probe of White House At the risk of a Newsfilter callout, this is pretty big news. The CIA has asked the Justice Department to find out if White House officials were responsible for blowing Valerie Plame's cover. Previous Plame discussion here.posted by emelenjr at 11:48 PM PST - 132 comments

The Anti-Squatter... A web-based sidebar to the recent passing of WKRP Manager and Maytag Repairman Gordon Jump: the 'dot-com' address with his name (as well as those for living and dead celebrities including Jack Palance, Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan and Flip Wilson) are owned by Richard Shumaker of "Wilmerding World Wide", who, on each homepage, editorializes against "Celebrity Name Cybersquatting", declares he has "captured" the names for "safekeeping", and promises "At no charge, I will be more than honored to transfer domain name ownership." [more inside]posted by wendell at 8:49 PM PST - 12 comments

I attacked and took over two countries... Friday Debunking Fun! It's been popping up all over in the past month. The problem is, none of its claims are referenced. I challenge my fellow MeFites to come up with the links to debunk or support the charges filed in the Presidential Confession. What's true? What isn't? What's relevant to the election?posted by badstone at 10:50 AM PST - 40 comments

PandaCam: Bai Yun’s cub(male) is big enough that now there’s something to see on the webcam in her birthing den at the San Diego Zoo. She’s quite the attentive mother and he’s becoming quite the wiggly baby. You can also view videos here.posted by lobakgo at 9:54 AM PST - 12 comments

Drop charges against accused 9-11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui?In a statement, the Justice Department said, "We believe the Constitution does not require, and national security will not permit, the government to allow Moussaoui, an avowed terrorist, to have direct access to his terrorist confederates who have been detained abroad as enemy combatants in the midst of a war." Confused? I know I am.posted by hairyeyeball at 6:38 AM PST - 19 comments

"..being over here just a couple of days, seeing how well our troops and the allied troops are being received here, (I) think the Iraqi people are happy we're here," the Hollywood star said. (But later admitted he had not met many Iraqis because he had been travelling the country by helicopter.) [Via BBC]posted by MintSauce at 5:24 AM PST - 31 comments

Levi Strauss to Shut Last Plants in U.S. Levi Strauss & Co. said that it would close the last of its North American manufacturing plants, laying off almost 2,000 workers. San Francisco-based Levi, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, said it would shutter two plants in San Antonio by the end of the year, displacing 800 workers there and marking the end of its U.S. manufacturing operations. And Cone Mills Corp., the world's largest denim fabric maker, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and accepted a letter of intent from W.L. Ross & Co to purchase all of its assets in a $90 million transaction (more inside)posted by matteo at 5:06 AM PST - 18 comments

Amazon as search engine. Is it just me, or does every search on Amazon.com result in 90% results for discontinued items or stuff they don't bother to sell? I'm not very confident.posted by troybob at 9:10 PM PST - 11 comments

Ted Rall has a theory as to why some people hate George W. Bush. Some of us got beyond the hate and just plan to support Frickles the Mudcat in 2004. A Frickles regine benefits you!posted by clango at 9:04 PM PST - 38 comments

27 Israeli Pilots have been grounded by the military after refusing to take part in airstrikes carried out in the occupied territories. Some active, some retired, they were accused of "making cynical use of the Israeli air force to express a civilian view," but in a joint letter to their command, they spoke out against "air force attacks in civilian population centers." Either way, Edward Said may be resting a little easier, at least tonight.posted by scarabic at 8:02 PM PST - 10 comments

Biggest cruise ship ever, the Queen Mary II, launches.Thousands watched as the giant 500 million pound cruise liner, which stretches the length of four football fields, left Saint Nazaire in western France on Thursday for a three-day test run. "We will push it to its maximum power to check that it can achieve 30 knots," said a spokesman for Alstom-Marine. "After that, we'll stop it brutally, and we will go in zigzags to check its stability."
Thousands, and not one thought to take a picture.posted by Poagao at 7:46 PM PST - 23 comments

Chinese Manned Spaceflight as early as October. After years of preparation, China appears poised to join America and Russia in manned space efforts. Tons of details at spacedaily.com. Rumor has it that the goal of the Chinese is a permanent lunar base and a visit to Mars. Will it take international competition to get the US moving in manned space flight outside of Earth orbit? The Space Exploration Act of 2003 sits as a bill in Congress, awaiting support. Will children dream of being a Yuhangyuan (Chinese term for space explorer) instead of an astronaut or cosmonaut?posted by Argyle at 11:35 AM PST - 49 comments

DVDRHelp. Ever wondered about the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R? Want the best tool for ripping VHS to DVD? All things video are revealed at DVDRHelp. Discover freeware tools like Tsunami MPeg Encoder. Compare the latest DVD burners. Be overwhelmed at the learning curve of making your own DVD videos. AKA VCDHelp.posted by Wulfgar! at 11:28 AM PST - 29 comments

"My symbiotic relationship with squirrels is rather complex and multi-leveled, but I think I can sum it up in two main points: 1. I give them food; 2. They like food" says Jon, at his World o' Squirrels. Some people think squirrels are cute, others think there is more to them, while others still deem them ruthless killers.posted by nthdegx at 5:05 AM PST - 29 comments

Caribou Coffee is smacked with a lawsuit for doing nothing when four employees complained of same-sex harassment from their boss. Among the allegations, one claims that the woman "[invited] one of the plaintiffs to her house to engage in some type of sexual activity with her dogs." You've gotta love the local tv news treatment of any given situation. Streaming video also available.posted by Hammerikaner at 7:32 PM PST - 6 comments

The IAAIS othersise known as "Radio Reading Services. Policy Statement: Everyone with a visual impairment, physical disability or learning disability has a right to equal access to all forms of information available to the general public. IAAIS works actively to promote and protect this access.

In a move sure to please independent record store owners and further alienate everyone else, music giant Universal has scrapped its to lower CD prices to a MSRP of $12.98. Just when you thought they might be getting it.posted by keswick at 6:08 PM PST - 25 comments

American Routes with Nick Spitzer is one of the best radio shows ever. It's a "... two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, presenting a broad range of American music -- blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical. Plus stories and conversations with musicians and everyday people, known and unknown." There are great archived interviews with people like Dick Dale, Calvin Cooke, Sleepy LeBeef, Koko Taylor, Bob Moog, Nick Hornby, Ahmet Ertegun, John Hammond Jr., Keely Smith, Jim Jarmusch and everyone in between. Playlists back to April 1998. Photos. The shows usually have a theme--"Cool", "Arabs and Jews in Jazz & Blues and Beyond", "East Texas / West Louisiana"--and are always interesting. Get even more info. at Deep Routes .posted by lobakgo at 12:53 PM PST - 7 comments

“Hybrid Humans” Very early on in the womb, two fertilized eggs that would have normally created fraternal twins will occasionally fuse to form one embryo, producing a "chimera": one person with two sets of DNA. The link goes to a Nature article, here is an NPR piece.posted by o2b at 12:35 PM PST - 15 comments

Ugh - and Ooqa Ooqa The company that brought us "shoshkeles" (flash ads plastered over your webstite of choice), United Virtualities - has now launched a newer, more annoying ad banner/tool/, ooqa-ooqa, which basically takes over your browser, removes your toolbar, and inserts ads. (They call it a "Branded Browser", and say it's fully "opt-in", which it wasn't for me)
I saw it in action here, at Forbes.com (to be a victim, I believe you need IE5+ on a PC, maybe not). Wasn't the idea of taking over the end-users browser squashed, chalked up as never a welcome or good idea years ago, when the ability to do it first arose?posted by kokogiak at 11:47 AM PST - 47 comments

DynCorp Disgrace"Middle-aged men having sex with 12- to 15-year-olds was too much for Ben Johnston, a hulking 6-foot-5-inch Texan, and more than a year ago he blew the whistle on his employer, DynCorp, a U.S. contracting company doing business in Bosnia..."posted by psmealey at 11:31 AM PST - 27 comments

Sonnet Central Wordsworth once said of the sonnet that he hoped that those "[w]ho have felt the weight of too much liberty,/Should find such brief solace there, as I have found." Sonnet Central offers a copious library of sonnets, mainly in the Anglo-American tradition but with examples from around the world. Those who wish to explore further in the sonnet's paradoxically expansive "scanty plot of ground" (Wordsworth again) may also wish to try Petrarch's Canzoniere (complete set, Italian with English translations); Shakespeare's Sonnets (self-described as "amazing"; the full cycle with glosses and paraphrases, plus illustrations and links to other poems); Golden Age Spanish Sonnets (translations); Christina Rossetti's Monna Innominata: A Sonnet of Sonnets (a reflection on the traditional sonnet sequence); George Meredith's Modern Love (a bleaker revision of the sonnet sequence tradition, featuring sixteen-line "sonnets"); and an excerpt from John Hollander's Powers of Thirteen (do the math and you'll see the experiment--it's an interesting modern sequence).posted by thomas j wise at 10:49 AM PST - 24 comments

Tehelka is the Indian journalism Web site that published video of bribe-taking on the Net, launching a Watergate-like corruption scandal at the highest levels of government. Since breaking the story, however, "Tehelka’s staff has gone from 120 people to three; its office has been vacated; its staffers arrested and harassed; and its debts have spiraled." But the site perserveres. And Malaysiakini seems to be following in its footsteps. As Doc Searles says, it's "the duct tape of journalism."posted by hairyeyeball at 7:33 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

It's official: wind power is now cheaper than electricity from Coal, Stanford Researchers report in a study published in the Journal Science. Quiz for Metafilter science wonks: how much of current US energy consumption could be supplied by spending 200 billion dollars on wind turbines?

Meanwhile...Powered by 6800 lithium-ion batteries, the Tzero "from zero to 100 and through the quarter mile, will run with, or beat, the $281,000 Lamborghini Murciposted by troutfishing at 6:53 AM PST - 53 comments

Important expose and interview runs on Salon today. "This evening the site the aritcle features is shut down.
As soon as we get that new server up we'll host the materials (yes, we have a copy) that Diebold doesn't want the public to see. Diebold cannot silence everyone. "
The links (2) for this piece can be found at URL given here.
"If you're not outraged you are not paying attention. "
The Agonist, as usual, is both outraged and paying attention.posted by Postroad at 6:14 AM PST - 47 comments

Have more sex says the Conservative party in the UK, procreate for the good of the economy and solve the looming pensions crisis. "Europe's real demographic crisis is not longevity but birth rates". Research says, apparently, that most women want more children than they have, but could it also be the case that a growing number of people just don't see the attraction?posted by jonvaughan at 4:44 AM PST - 30 comments

In her autobiography, "Living History," Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton recounts how China's imprisonment of a prominent human rights activist, Harry Wu, caused a sensation in the United States and nearly derailed her plans to attend a United Nations women's conference held in Beijing in 1995.
In the officially licensed Chinese edition of Mrs. Clinton's book, though, Mr. Wu makes just a cameo appearance. While named, he is otherwise identified only as a person who was "prosecuted for espionage and detained awaiting trial."
But nearly everything Mrs. Clinton had to say about China, including descriptions of her own visits here, former President Bill Clinton's meetings with Chinese leaders and her criticisms of Communist Party social controls and human rights policies, has been shortened or selectively excerpted to remove commentary deemed offensive by Beijing.
My question: is anybody other than Hillary really suprised by this?posted by RevGreg at 12:57 AM PST - 14 comments

An Elevator to the Stars. The paper of record claims this isn't science fiction, but do we really believe that in ten years we'll be able to build a 60,000 mile long cable capable of supporting 13 ton cargo loads? Would you trust this to take you into asynchronous orbit? (Or maybe you just want to make like Joe Kittinger and jump out at 100,000 feet.)posted by alms at 6:34 PM PST - 24 comments

Plenty of pop music explosions have been international in scope-metal, punk, hip-hop. But none as much as the initial blast garage rock and roll that erupted after the Beatles and Stones broke big. Cutie Morning Moon does an astounding job of documenting the far flung outposts of garageland like Chile, Hong Kong, Sweden, HollandJapanUruguay, Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe. It also includes the story of Japanese Brazillian expatriates Os Incriveis , plenty of wildphotos, movie footage of swede legends the Tages and an article on the secret history of Joan Jett's #1 hit " I Love Rock And Roll". This site is seemingly bottomless, but if that ain't enough there's great links too. If the whole world gan get together and dig three chord boogie, I say there's still hope.
*some pages are translated from Japanese. The prose can be awkward. But the feelings there.posted by jonmc at 5:44 PM PST - 13 comments

The requirement to carry passports while visiting US, that will eventually include biometric markers such as iris scans as well as digital photos, leaves Canadians unhappy.posted by riffola at 2:59 PM PST - 23 comments

Warblogger as Goodwill Ambassador Chief Wiggles, one of the major military warbloggers, is running a toy drive for Iraqi children. Seems like it might be a nice way to engender some good vibes in the next generation of Iraqis.posted by jengod at 9:56 AM PST - 30 comments

In the long tradition of Google anouncements may I present to you Google Location search (which if you recall was the winner of the competition they held last year)posted by zeoslap at 9:45 AM PST - 7 comments

Breaking the silence Last night ITV1 in the UK ran a documentary that is unlikely to be shown in the USA. It is by a respected journalist called John Pilger and amongst other tidbits it shows Colin Powell saying in 1991 that Iraq poses no threat and also Condoleeza Rice confirming the same thing. It also quotes some US officials that the current bunch who seem to be running US foreign policy were known during the administration of Bush senior as "the crazies". Plus much more.posted by donfactor at 5:45 AM PST - 101 comments

Mutant Rats are Here! Farms in Kyrgyzstan are being overrun with rats that do not respond to the usual poison and target people. It was created in a (mad scientist's?) lab. Apocalypse Now?posted by billsaysthis at 7:46 PM PST - 34 comments

Dreaming is said to play a vital role in the lives of the Senoi tribe of Malaysia. While this story has it's detractors, Senoi-style lucid dreaming is one technique practiced by those looking to discover just what's going on inside their heads.posted by moonbird at 3:22 PM PST - 5 comments

It’s not what you say, it's the way you say it--Part 2. This observation was cleverly illustrated by Prof. Howard L. Chace in Anguish Languish, an exercise to demonstrate to his French Language students that intonation is key to understanding spoken language. Here is the complete text. You can read his best known Furry Tell about a Wicket Woof and a Ladle Gull or hear it read.(Warning-has sound.) I first found out about Howard Chace from an article in The Whole Earth Catalog and certain phrases have rattled around my head ever since. Here is a discussion of Anguish Languish if you want to write your own. Like this version of Gender Cyst from the Homely Babble.posted by lobakgo at 12:19 PM PST - 5 comments

If Bush said the earth is flat, of course Fox News would say "Yes, the earth is flat, and anyone who says different is unpatriotic." And mainstream media would have stories with the headline: "Shape of Earth: Views Differ; and would at most report that some Democrats say that it's round."

So said Paul Krugman during a recent interview in Boston with Chris Lydon, former host of NPR's 'The Connection.'posted by ericrolph at 10:41 AM PST - 28 comments

The Song Is You: If ever there was a perfect singer - and I do mean perfect - it was Ella Fitzgerald. Her Songbooks (please scroll down for the listings and samples) are still - and will always be - the best collection there is of the great American standards. That is, if you don't mind crying and having the little hairs on the nape of your neck stand up and revolt. And swing. They'd be the last records objects I'd be willing to part with: they're the mother's milk of American Western popular culture. So imagine my surprise when I found their perfect counterpart on the Web: the best-ever collection of lyrics to the songs of the greatest American composers: Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Richard Rodgers. Admirably, the compiler has gone way beyond his duty and included wonderful standards (quite a few unknown to me) that even Ella never got around to singing. Thank you, Todd. And God bless you, Sir!posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:02 AM PST - 26 comments

I have to travel the highways and byways of America by car and train a great deal, and its much more fun if you actually see America on the way. Two of my favorite sites for finding offbeat attractions and tasty eats are By The Way Magazine and Roadside America.posted by anastasiav at 9:54 AM PST - 5 comments

Monkeys down tools . - Demand fair pay for a fair day's work.
" Researchers taught brown capuchin monkeys to swap tokens for food. Usually they were happy to exchange this "money" for cucumber.
But if they saw another monkey getting a grape - a more-liked food - they took offence. Some refused to work, others took the food and refused to eat it. "posted by Blue Stone at 9:50 AM PST - 21 comments

You've probably never heard of him, but as an artist JSG Boggs has been making "money" for two decades. Boggs has been the subject of manyarticles, a film, and a book by Lawrence Welscher. He's bought lots of things with his art ("Hot dogs, watches, airplane tickets, rent, clothing, jewelry–-anything." (And he's done so in England, Germany, France, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, the USA, and Italy.) The largest collection of his works belongs to TheSecretService. [more inside]posted by dobbs at 9:30 PM PST - 17 comments

Why did most of the world abandon Washington when it went after Saddam Hussein? The war in Iraq could never have been an easy sell, but nor should it have been such a difficult one. The Bush administration badly botched the prewar maneuvering, presenting a textbook study in how not to wage a diplomatic campaign.posted by y2karl at 9:16 PM PST - 16 comments

How To: By You is a "sociological project is about the study of knowledge among human society and how it can differ and change." Topics range from how to cook the perfect grilled cheese sandwich to catching fish, with seemingly no limit to the possibilities. Got a question for the unwashed masses? Or maybe you have the ultimate martini recipe. Show off your intuition.posted by mb01 at 4:21 PM PST - 5 comments

Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing for Guardian Newspapers, found an interesting piece on Hitler's Mountain Home, "A Visit to 'Haus Wachenfeld" in a 1938 copy of Homes & Gardens magazine. Intrigued by the glowing nature of the article and it's historical importance [We hear a lot about how the British upper and upper-middle classes felt that 'That Hitler chap had some very good ideas' ... but it's only when you see it in this almost comically fawning form that you realise how someone who can seem utterly abhorrent with hindsight can appeal to people at the time,] he posted it to his blog only to be sent a takedown notice by Homes & Gardens magazine, for copyright violation. Wired has the story.posted by Blue Stone at 9:22 AM PST - 16 comments

A trademark infringement lawsuit has been filed by the owners of the Dewey Decimal System against New York's Library Hotel, which numbers and fills rooms based on the system: "Each of the 10 guestrooms floors honors one of the 10 categories of the DDC and each of the 60 rooms is uniquely adorned with a collection of books and art exploring a distinctive topic within the category or floor it belongs to." Call early to book Room 800.001.posted by rcade at 6:22 AM PST - 53 comments

A legitimate use for P2P programs: tracking music downloads for target marketing. BigChampagne "is selling file sharing data to "Maverick, Atlantic, Warner Bros., Interscope, DreamWorks, Elektra, and Disney's Hollywood label." Data is mined from partial IP addresses married to postal codes, and this tied to downloads associated with the contents of the users shared folders. Data is analyzed to understand and target specific markets. Acknowledging this legitimate use would put a damper on the music industry's case against P2P, so it's mostly being done on the sly.posted by giantkicks at 5:00 AM PST - 6 comments

Tacheback?(via The Presurfer)
Another web widget I have to add to my blog to stay cool? No, it's another moustache-growing contest, organized to support "The Institute of Cancer Research's national campaign to raise awareness and funding for male cancers". What do moustaches have to do with "male cancers"? Don't ask. Why did I say "another"? Because the biennial World Beard and Moustache Championships are coming to Carson City, Nevada, November 1st. Of course some media have already given this man the title of "World's Longest Moustache" (at least those who paid him $5 to take his picture). posted by wendell at 1:02 AM PST - 13 comments

September 20

It's Not What You Say, It's The Way That You Say It: George Bernard Shaw famously remarked that every time an Englishman opens his mouth it's guaranteed that another Englishman will despise him. This website offers a motley and unintentionally hilarious collection of the many, ever-growing pronunciations of the English language. The variety is so wide you could almost be listening to different languages. But is a particular accent still an anti-democratic barrier, strictly revealing your position on the socio-geographic ladder, as it was in the days Nancy Mitford discussed U and non-U vocabulary? Or have upper-class accents in the U.K. and U.S. (note the Boston Brahmin samples), once coveted and preferred, now become the opposite: unforgivable impediments? Does posh speech exist in Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as it does in the U.K. and U.S.? In other words: Does it still matter? (Quicktime Audio for main and fourth link; Real Audio for third.)posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:21 PM PST - 50 comments

Garret Hardin and his wife Jane were found dead last Thursday in their house of Santa Barbara (California), presumably a double suicide. His 1968 essay Tragedy of the Commons (a critique of both communism and laissez-faire capitalism in the light of natural resources constrains) was one of the most widely known works of this expert in population and ecology. Garret was 88 and Jane was 81 and both were in poor health. Last week celebrated their 62nd anniversary.
They were members of the Hemlock Society (now know as End-of-Life Choices).posted by samelborp at 12:14 PM PST - 11 comments

Wrong moves, right moves As the occupation of Iraq starts to look more like Lebanon, the Illinois contrasts the fallacious tragedy of forging a police force from infantry, and contrasts that with the MP's from the 223rd. The infantry is trained for full-scale war. Infantry soldiers are taught to meet any force, or any threat of force, with overwhelming counter-force. This mindset wins wars, as proved by the rapid defeat of the Iraqi military during the April invasion. But it poses a huge problem during post-war peacekeeping, as demonstrated in Fallujah on September 12--and in late April, when the infantry fired on a large crowd of unarmed protestors in Fallujah, killing 13.more inside...posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 10:37 AM PST - 7 comments

September 19

Lemurama - chances are you didn't know much about lemurs. I know certainly didn't. Learn lemur lore and more in this fascinating look into the secret lives of these winsome critters. (flash alert! ~ via pya)posted by madamjujujive at 9:20 PM PST - 14 comments

Gene Stories. "If your parents kept on having children, they’d have to visit the maternity hospital another million billion times to stand a chance of producing another child with your genes" (unless you're an identical twin of course).posted by lola at 4:58 PM PST - 5 comments

Human chess on a city-block scale. Giant chess games, played by international masters, using humans as pieces and city blocks as the board squares. Another game is in the works for New York next year, and the organizer is preparing to hold a similar game in San Francisco next month.
Plus, bonus stories from the front line: "Black Queen's Bishop gets call on cell phone, ordering him to move South. We note that the Black Queen has apparently moved from her position at c7. We appear to be on the attack! I eagerly await my own orders to move."posted by majcher at 2:36 PM PST - 14 comments

In a British Parliamentary by-election yesterday, there was a surprise upset. It had little to do with the candidacy, however, of Alan Howling Lord Hope (59 crucial votes), current leader of the Monster Raving Loony Party. The Party was founded by the very late Lord Sutch, whose current political activity is unknown. Besides the current California circus, we yanks haven't had a good "hampaign" since this man (we're overdue).posted by moonbird at 1:59 PM PST - 4 comments

Just think of it as the world's biggest colonic. Hurricanes: Death, destruction and good for the environment? From the WaPo.
"A hurricane can dump five to 15 inches of fresh water on a place that desperately needs it, replenishing the aquifer, Marks says. It can also clean out clogged-up and polluted bodies of water.
"It flushes out all the garbage," he says. "It cleans out the plumbing, so to speak."posted by beatnik808 at 1:57 PM PST - 5 comments

Sail ho! "In the spring of 1788, the original Lady Washington sailed into the northwest waters, becoming the first American vessel to make landfall on the west coast of what would one day become the United States...Launched in 1989, the Lady Washington is a full-scale replica of the first American vessel to explore the Pacific Northwest Coast." Any tall ships in your local area?
Now I'm in the mood for some Barrett's Privateers or Canadee-I-O . posted by OneSmartMonkey at 1:50 PM PST - 2 comments

My vote for best sentence of the year: "I did not have financial relations with Halliburton." Though I would have preferred the wording "that company" to Halliburton.posted by coolgeek at 1:12 PM PST - 26 comments

"The first time I met June was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I got on my knees and told her that I was going to marry her some day. We were both married to someone else at the time. Ring of Fire - June wrote that song for me, because that's the way our love affair was. We fell madly in love and worked together all the time." The Guardian's got Johnny Cash's final interview.posted by Ufez Jones at 10:02 AM PST - 10 comments

Spasmodica There have been some unusual homemade characters popping up, but I thought the names and descriptions for these were unusually clever. For example: Chestaire, who "secretly wishes he had more hair (on his head)." Or Jacques Heepoe ("the 's' is silent") the hippo who is "an avid tonette player".

Hey, Kelly Osborne owns one. And if you're out of work like me, the creator is open to swaps. Sweet.posted by sparky at 9:09 AM PST - 9 comments

The service was broadcast live on television in Denmark Finland, Norway and Sweden.

An odd twist in the story is that the man had met crown princess Madeleine in a bar and that they hang out in the same social circles in Stockholm (last link in swedish).posted by hoskala at 7:47 AM PST - 17 comments

September 18

David Garland's disturbing new book addresses the question why there are so many more people in jail in America and Britain than anywhere else... Its broader concern is with "cultures of control," how societies treat deviance and violence and whom they single out for what treatment. Here are some facts about skyrocketing imprisonment... There are approximately two million people in jail in America today, 2,166,260 at last count: more than four times as many people as thirty years ago. It is the largest number in our history... [and] between four and ten times the incarceration rate of any civilized country in the world... Twelve percent of African-American men between twenty and thirty-four are currently behind bars (the highest figure ever recorded by the Justice Department) compared to 1.6 percent of white men of comparable ages. And according to the same source, 28 percent of black men will be sent to jail in their lifetime... It was not until crime rates had already leveled off that incarceration rates began their steady, year-by-year climb. Between 1972 and 1992, while the population of America's prisons grew and grew, the crime rate as a whole continued at the same level, unchanged. Jerome S. Bruner reviews The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society for The New York Review of Books, as does Austin Sarat in the American Prospect.posted by y2karl at 7:14 PM PST - 9 comments

Isabel Blog. WVEC in Hampton Roads, Virginia creates a blog for Hurricane Isabel, and allows users to submit content. Users respond with pictures and stories that are a lot more interesting than what the media has to report...posted by insomnia_lj at 4:34 PM PST - 14 comments

DUKWs have been around since WWII, and are basically boats with wheels. Schwimmwagens have also been around since then, but they're basically a waterproof car with a propeller, like the 1960's Amphicar. Both are kinda slow in the water. The only cool looking amphibious vehicles that could reach a decent speed in the water have been in James Bond movies. Not any more...posted by badstone at 2:33 PM PST - 10 comments

Can we ever 'Get Back' to 'Let it Be'? A new version of the Beatles' last album will be released in November. Doubtless it'll sound great to Paul and Ringo, but will we be able to appreciate the raw, un-Spectorized sound, or is 33 years too big a wall of sound to overcome?posted by soyjoy at 2:03 PM PST - 42 comments

The Postwar Post Abi Berman takes a look at stories by Washington Post reporters--chiefly Walter Pincus--who consistently penned stories during the war that are developing increasing currency now that the truth about the post-war situation is getting out. The problem? The Post buried these stories in the back, but Pincus is joining the growing chorus of journalists decrying their employers' suspect war-time editorial policies. via Joe Connason's blogposted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 1:40 PM PST - 4 comments

Learn How to Make Change. Having never had to work retail and wanting to learn bartending, I found the FunBrain Change Maker to be a useful game where the player calculates the change given for a money purchase.posted by johnnydark at 9:10 AM PST - 18 comments

A history of UK Punk Rock from 1976-79. "Featuring an A-Z of punk bands from Adam and The Ants to The Sex Pistols to X Ray Spex, fanzines, punk girls, rare record sleeves, audio clips, fashion, punk rock lyrics, interviews and loads of pictures." It's not all about the Sex Pistols.posted by archimago at 7:02 AM PST - 48 comments

After calling our concerns Hysteria and saying we've been Duped by those who are ideologically opposed to the Patriot Act, Ashcroft Now Says the FBI has not sought a single record from a library or business under a part of the Patriot Act widely criticized as opening Americans' reading habits or personal information to undue government scrutiny.
After a Phone Call to the Head of the American Library Assoc, he promised to declassify a report on how often the agency has sought information from public libraries under the USA Patriot Act.
Congressman Bernie Sanders Says who has authored legislation that would amend section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, welcomed reports today that Attorney General Ashcroft, after months of pressure from Congress and national civil liberty and privacy organizations, has agreed to disclose to the public how Section 215 has been used.posted by Blake at 6:19 AM PST - 18 comments

"Mostly, we've been watching the president's rhetoric spring leaks in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So perhaps we haven't paid enough attention to how many holes have popped open in his domestic socks. Joblessness that was supposed to be stanched by the Bush tax cuts. Urban food kitchens overwhelmed by the demand from people who are working but underemployed and end up out of money three weeks into the month. A domestic Peace Corps program (AmeriCorps) that is praised publicly by the president as admirable volunteerism but is being starved of money by the White House and congressional Republicans. But, still, you wouldn't think he would stiff children and their schooling. That's maybe the most disappointing thing this president has done here at home."

There's a catch though. In addition to jiggling more than their required class work, the dancers must also maintain a healthy, robust and voluptuous B average to receive the financial aid. Obviously this program is sexist in more ways than one, but Robert Katzman, owner of the clubs offering the program feels that "A girl who wants to better herself, who wants to progress, makes for a higher level entertainer."posted by DragonBoy at 12:38 PM PST - 39 comments

Top this, MacGyver A college freshman and inveterate tinkerer followed Philo Farnsworth's designs to build a workable fusion reactor out of junk.
via Macintouchposted by adamrice at 11:17 AM PST - 26 comments

216 years ago today, the constitution of the United States was signed with "Unanimous Consent"* from the thirteen states. In the years since, many have used the other writings of those governmental framers to interpret the constitution. To make that task easier, the University of Chicago Press offers The Framer's Constitution, an exhaustively annotated document that includes not just references to those other writings, but the complete texts as well. The print version is 3200 pages and costs a pretty penny, but thanks to the Liberty Fund, you can access it on-line for free.posted by ewagoner at 8:35 AM PST - 29 comments

Unnanounced art in Home Depot. Artist Stefanie Nagorka has created sculptures in ten states in the last year, and aims to bring her work to Home Depots in all fifty in the coming 18 months. She uses materials, mainly concrete slabs and bricks, from the stores, assembles the sculptures in the aisle, snaps a picture for herself, and leave the rest there for customers to enjoy or puzzle over - and for the employees to disassemble and re-stock. I think I like it. (From this month's ReadyMade.)posted by majcher at 7:40 PM PST - 89 comments

Cool War: "In searching for evidence of the potential danger posed by Iraq, the Bush Administration need have looked no further than the well-kept record of U.S. manipulation of the sanctions program since 1991. If any international act in the last decade is sure to generate enduring bitterness toward the United States, it is the epidemic suffering needlessly visited on Iraqis via U.S. fiat inside the United Nations Security Council. Within that body, the United States has consistently thwarted Iraq from satisfying its most basic humanitarian needs, using sanctions as nothing less than a deadly weapon, and, despite recent reforms, continuing to do so. Invoking security concerns -- including those not corroborated by U.N. weapons inspectors -- U.S. policymakers have effectively turned a program of international governance into a legitimized act of mass slaughter." [More inside]posted by stonerose at 7:07 PM PST - 36 comments

The Quest announced by LitKicks marries sudden fiction (and poetry, and nonfiction) workshop dynamics to a survivor-like competitive format, starting October 1, with six winners to be published in a book featuring the best work from the Quest. It's open to all, costs $20 to enter, and requires a free membership in the LitKicks site, which is a thriving online literary community as it is. More info in the FAQ. I think this may work better for me than NaNoWriMo would.posted by xian at 5:41 PM PST - 4 comments

NASA's Official 'Galileo Dies' Page. Galileo is set to crash into Jupiter on Sunday. Responsible for many great images and tons of information, Galileo served well. Find a complete history of the Galileo mission here. Also, don't forget to watch the End of Mission webcast this Sunday at approx. 2 PM EST here.posted by Ufez Jones at 2:17 PM PST - 7 comments

Have we arrived at the end of the two state solution? Tom Friedman, Ehud Barak, various Palestinian leaders, and a growing number of Palestinians on the ground, are starting to wonder if a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine is becoming impossible. The idea is gaining momentum on the ground in Palestine, as the contiguous area needed for a Palestinian state becomes less likely. Are we heading back to the days of "one (hu)man, one vote" campus activism a la the anti-aparthied movement?posted by laz-e-boy at 12:05 PM PST - 13 comments

"Vancouver has opened North America's first legal shooting gallery for drug addicts." -for all you poor saps where guns are a part of your everyday vocabulary, NO that's not a place where drug addicts shoot guns.- this is a pilot program supported by all levels of government in BC and in Canada, where addicts can inject drugs in a supervised, clean environment. The purpose of which ultimately I think is to bridge the huge gap between "them" and "us" and possibly shrink the distance addicts have to reach through for help. Does my heart bleed for "them"? Absolutely not. You choose your weapon, you suffer the consequences. But what this could lead to is less addicts and therefore less reason for addicts to commit crimes to support their addictions...posted by giantkicks at 11:21 AM PST - 71 comments

Don't kill p2p because of a few bad eggsPeer-to-peer networks can be used for legal or illegal purposes. So can the telephone, a newspaper or a church's bulletin board. People are responsible for their own actions and there are laws designed to prosecute people for illegal actions.
The legal uses of P2P are rarely heard, because they are not 'sexy' or political. P2P allows artists and listeners to connect directly. The proliferation of unique works created and distributed on the Internet is staggering.(not the best letter to the editor, but the best I could find)
Ok, so in theory, p2p apps can be used for purposes other than downloading coprighted music and porn. But seriously, does anyone actually use it for legitimate purposes? What do you search for on Kazaa/Gnutella/BitTorrent that is useful, legal, and interesting?posted by mecran01 at 8:23 AM PST - 42 comments

The Chromolithographs of E.L. Trouvelot. "Etienne Leopold Trouvelot (1827-1895), a French-born artist and amateur astronomer, spent 15 years observing the heavens and making original drawings from his observations: 'While my aim in this work has been to combine scrupulous fidelity and accuracy in the details, I have also endeavored to preserve the natural elegance and the delicate outlines peculiar to the objects depicted.'
To illustrate his observations of celestial objects and phenomena, Trouvelot selected fifteen of his drawings to be reproduced using chromolithography, an illustration process that was at the zenith of its development in the 1880's." Heavens Above is a NYPL exhibit that compares his art and science to contemporary photos by NASA of the same phenomena.posted by eyebeam at 7:56 AM PST - 8 comments

Republicans for Dean... but not in the way you might think. An interesting op-ed piece by David Brooks on why a Dean candidacy might be good news for the Bush team. (NYTimes, but no registration required.)posted by UKnowForKids at 7:29 AM PST - 60 comments

Do Cars force us to give up the outdoors? In jail, prisoners are stuck indoors and aren't allowed to go outside except for an hour at most. But are the car-driving residents of the average American suburb consigned to the same fate? "You go from the box garage in the house to the box car, driving down the street, not touching anything or being part of your environment" says Jessica Denevan. [More Inside]posted by gregb1007 at 12:54 AM PST - 70 comments

Kick A Brit In The Nuts: We've heard enough about anti-Americanism. What about anti-British feeling? Check out the USianwebsite. Is there still a lingering, post-colonial resentment in the U.S., Australia and South Africa? Why not, apparently, in Canada or New Zealand? Is it anti-British, i.e. including the Scots and the Welsh, or just anti-English? Finally, is Usian the best collective noun for citizens of the U.S.A.? Will American eventually become politically incorrect, even though no one calls a Canadian an American? Sorry about so many questions. Me confused European!posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:32 AM PST - 64 comments

September 15

How to win at slots: Cheat"Carmichael is no two-bit slot cheat. Authorities have anointed him one of the best, a master inventor who conspired with an elite group of thieves to steal millions from casinos. "posted by srboisvert at 11:26 PM PST - 16 comments

The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore was meant to be a ticket good for one ride.
"Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances," the justices said in their unsigned opinion in 2000, "for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities."
Three judges on the federal appeals court in San Francisco, all appointed by Democratic presidents, decided yesterday to use it for another ride anyway. posted by y2karl at 8:23 PM PST - 8 comments

Freak Show: Jumbo In The New World "In 1903, American inventor Thomas Edison arranged to have an elephant publicly electrocuted in Luna Park. Up to that point Edison, in his bitter campaign to discredit the electrical theories of George Westinghouse, had been content to publicly electrocute cats and dogs. When Topsy, an enraged circus elephant, trampled to death its third trainer in three years, Edison offered to "execute" the animal in a way that would demonstrate once and for all his belief in the dangers of alternating current. The electrocution of this elephant was filmed and apparently the footage can still be viewed at the Coney Island Museum."posted by quonsar at 5:55 PM PST - 26 comments

...“To be honest, I get sick every time I tell someone I am from Mostar [in Bosnia] and they ask me whether I am from the east or west side of the city (the city is divided into the Bosniak east side and the Croat west side),” said Nino Raspudic. “That is one of the reasons for building a statue of Bruce Lee. We are hoping that someone in the future will say: “I knew Mostar. That is the city with the Bruce Lee statue. If we succeed in that, then I can retire.”posted by talos at 5:30 PM PST - 6 comments

In addition to being the documentation (from the winner's p.o.v.) of the Battle of Hastings, not to mention being the world's first comic strip, the Bayeux Tapestry is the inspiration behind the Historic Tale Construction Kit (note: Flash 6 required). Build your own medieval themed cartoons & email them to friends.posted by jonson at 12:37 PM PST - 6 comments

"A wicked noblewoman presides over a decadent court of masked revelers. The most beautiful of waxen automatons is brought to life by a sorceress, her very heart hiding a deadly secret. And then love triumphs, if but for a single moment, before a sudden and terrifying finale. This is the bizarre world of The Princess of Wax".

September 14

Scrambled Text. Tihs jrivascapt let's you puodcre scmbleard txet jsut lkie a ctraien prgpaarah taht kepes ppoipng up all oevr the pclae."Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe."posted by bobo123 at 10:54 PM PST - 58 comments

Methamphetamine is now a WMD. Well, I guess we should've seen it coming. According to this Salon article, prosecutors across the country are now using the Patriot act to prosecute drug crimes, fraud, and anything involving a bomb. This means any of these people may be detained indefinitely without an attorney. I don't like trailing questions, but I would like to see some constructive and creative posts about what can be done to protest this. It's so blatantly unconstitutional, it's not funny anymore, and I for one am not willing to welcome our new overlords.posted by condour75 at 9:13 PM PST - 100 comments

Neoroscience and wireless communication An apparently non-hysterical warning from scientist Leif Salford, who cautions that by using hand-held cellular devices we're conducting "the largest human biological experiment ever."

According to the Independent (UK) article, it's been proven that microwave radiation opens 'the blood-brain barrier, allowing a protein called albumin to pass into the brain.' Lund's latest work 'goes a step further, showing the process is linked to serious brain damage.'

That in turn causes ... uh, what was I writing about? I forget.

Sorry. Seriously, is there anyone in the room competent to comment on the validity of this warning? (Via Gizmodo)posted by mojohand at 10:54 AM PST - 15 comments

Film Schools obsessed with theory David Weddle complains that in film schools "discussions about movie characters, plots and the human beings who created them are replaced by theories such as semiotics, structuralism, post-structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalytics and neoformalism. [More inside]posted by gregb1007 at 1:19 AM PST - 45 comments

Scott McCloud and Clay Shirky are trading ideas on Micropayemnts again.
Clay Says user-pays schemes can't simply be restored through minor tinkering with payment systems, because they don't address the cause of that change -- a huge increase the power and reach of the individual creator..
Scott Says micropayments, well, BitPass are here to stay this time.As a content producer I like the idea, but as a content consumer I'm just not sure yet. If mefi went Micro, would you pay?posted by Blake at 5:52 PM PST - 28 comments

Slightly ominous, slightly beautiful collection of ePostcards (and photographs) of Streatham Cemetery, rendered in the subtlest use of Flash I've ever seen (gentle animations on small portions of each image. Be sure to view the cemetery in all four seasons, multiple pix of each.posted by jonson at 4:14 PM PST - 26 comments

Upcoming Epic Film Trilogy, or probably not "Fast-paced and action-packed, the three movies will feature "breathtaking" sequences similar to those of Matrix, with a "grabbing" story line like Rocky, combined with the urban awareness of Eminem's 8-Mile." The upcoming trilogy of movies are about..... soccer (football for the international folks). With this heavy-handed attempt to bring soccer to the mainstream of American audiences and with the press that the WUSA and Major League Soccer has gotten the last few years, why hasn't soccer caught on in the U.S. and what can be done to change this?posted by graventy at 8:59 AM PST - 26 comments

"She didn't seem to care for the hawker selling goats' heads. But she did stop when a young, well-dressed fellow ambled over to her and said: 'You have captured my liver.'" This and other stories from a very well-detailed article on the three-day dating festival of the Berbers of Morocco.posted by XQUZYPHYR at 5:26 PM PST - 5 comments

Yellowstone supervolcano threatens world destruction - That's about it, folks: "Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under the park and have calculated that in parts of Yellowstone the ground has risen over seventy centimetres, almost two and a half feet, since 1923, indicating a massive swelling underneath the park. "The impact of a Yellowstone eruption is terrifying to comprehend." says Professor McGuire. "Magma would be flung 50 kilometres into the atmosphere. Within a thousand kilometres virtually all life would be killed by falling ash" The Yellowstone caldera has been acting up in recent months and we're supposedly overdue for the big one. But don't flee to the East coast: A super tidal wave will get you there. I hear Tierra Del Fuego is nice, except for the Ozone Hole problem. Have a nice weekend. Y'all.posted by troutfishing at 1:16 PM PST - 83 comments

Search your TV. TVEyes offers real-time searching of closed captioned television shows, and alerts you through email, IM and wireless messages. The consumer level only provides excerpts, but what a step towards making all sources of information searchable.posted by dragoon at 12:57 PM PST - 4 comments

CGchannel.com has a brief but fairly informative feature on the two CG effect "set pieces" in the recent movie S.W.A.T. I thought the movie was a quite respectable summer spectacle - the helicopter crash in particular was quite well-done - and it's usually fun and instructive to see how these things are done.posted by GriffX at 12:44 PM PST - 3 comments

Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese poet and mastermind. He created and maintained several heteronyms who each had their own distinct writings, went on to lead interesting lives, and even interacted with each other. All in the public eye.

The truth about their existence was only discovered after the death of Pessoa and the subsequent discovery of a trunk containing writings from all of them.posted by ODiV at 11:32 AM PST - 14 comments

The colour scheme throughout this bright, airy chalet is a light jade green. In outside rooms, like the sun-parlour, chairs and tables are of white plated cane. Here Hitler will read the home and foreign papers which his own air-pilot, Hansel Baur, brings him every day from Berlin before lunch. Homes & Gardens magazine gushes over the Führer's Bavarian pad, circa 1938. (via boingboing)posted by gottabefunky at 11:19 AM PST - 10 comments

How 'bout a little bookish fun. We're cool enough to have our own Action Figure, but did you know librarians star in at least 2 cartoons, Library Girl, the adventures of a library girl and her cat, and the fantastically funny "Unshelved".
We've been Featured in the funny pages numerous times, and have been the subject of a couple funny flash cartoons as well, The Library, a catchy toon [Warning: May stick in your head for hours], and a "Cops" parody "Overdue", featuring the library cops.
We're a Funny Bunch, not just a bunch of ol' ladies.posted by Blake at 8:06 AM PST - 21 comments

Watch video projected in mid-air.IO2 Technology's ground breaking medium format 27-inch heliodisplay, developed by Mr. Chad Dyner, projects full color streaming video into mid-air.
Don't know how I stumbled on this but it looks very cool. Imagine a fully interactive image that allows "a hand or finger to select, navigate and manipulate the image or video as a virtual touchscreen".posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:38 AM PST - 21 comments

Amazing security! They’ll screen you at airports, they’ll check your emails, they’ll arrest and hold you without obvious reason. Yes, they say this is the way to make America safer. But, hell…posted by acrobat at 3:38 AM PST - 20 comments

20 unanswered questions about 9/11 - "Why after 730 days do we know so little about what really happened that day? No one knows where the alleged mastermind of the attack is, and none of his accomplices has been convicted of any crime. We're not even sure if the 19 people identified by the U.S. government as the suicide hijackers are really the right guys."posted by suprfli at 10:19 PM PST - 26 comments

DeanLink is a new service from the Dean Campaign. Dean + Friendster = DeanLink. The tech savvy presidential campaign strikes again. What's next? DeanTorrent? Where do you think all this technology will go after the campaign is over?posted by cjoh at 9:26 PM PST - 10 comments

Apple Corps Ltd. sues Apple Computers over AppleMusic. "When it first happened with the iPod, we said, "What could they be thinking?" said a Beatles legal insider, who agreed that posters announcing the iPod from "AppleMusic" were among the most egregious violations. "They knew we had the agreement, and that we'd won a lot of money from them already."posted by riffola at 8:02 PM PST - 31 comments

Is That A Masterpiece Or What? Oh, Give Me A Fucking Break! It's definitely a what, right? The great thing about growing up is you stop caring about what is admired and respected by those you admire and respect and settle down to liking what you actually like. I can remember studying and pretending to love, for instance, the films of Eisenstein; Syberberg or Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet; the writings of Kierkegaard, Proust, Musil, Robbe-Grillet or Michel Butor; the artworks of Joseph Beuys, Frank Stella or Morris Louis; the music of Ligeti, Stockhausen, Xenakis or Luigi Nono. Now, I admit I think they're all quite boring. All lies; damned lies! And yet...and yet I think this article by Tom Utley is thoroughly philistine and brutal. Still: could it be that we all fake it to some extent? When we're young, at least? Have you ever lied about your taste? Are you ashamed?posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:32 PM PST - 45 comments

Frank and sobering interview with Paul Krugman. Krugman: If you ask Norquist or the Heritage Foundation about where the economic and social policy intelligentsia really stands, their aim is to roll us back to Herbert Hoover or before. Norquist actually thinks that we've got to get back to before the progressive movement –- before the McKinley era, which actually is one of Karl Rove's guiding lights as well. So there's definitely an important faction in the Bush administration and in the Republican Party that really wants to unravel all of this stuff and basically wants us to go back to a situation where, if you are unlucky, and you don't have enough to eat, or you can't afford medical care, well, that's just showing that you weren't sufficiently provident. And then, for these people, there would be no social safety net whatsoever.
Other people in the party, and other people in the coalition, have deluded themselves into thinking that somehow this is all going to be painless, and we're going to grow our way out of the deficit. Other people really don't care about any of that and are viewing their alliance with these people as a way to achieve their social goals -– basically roll back the revolution in social mores over the past few decades.posted by skallas at 6:19 PM PST - 38 comments

Bush Resignation Hailed by World Leaders[Washington] The surprise resignation of the forty-third President of the United States, George W. Bush, on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, was hailed by chiefs of state throughout the world.posted by mapalm at 3:10 PM PST - 58 comments

New Words! New Words! The OED's quarterly update is up. You can now officially use: 800 number, anime, first person, incentivize, ish, JPEG, Klingon, Kwanzaa and xeriscape, plus a whole mess of words between "necial to Nipissing."posted by jengod at 12:13 PM PST - 31 comments

Fantastic images of a Great White Shark breaching (leaving the surface of the water, like a whale or a dolphin would). Note - they apparently usually exhibit this behavior when they are killing/feeding, so those with delicate sensibilities shouldn't click.posted by jonson at 10:40 AM PST - 48 comments

BlackSpotSneaker: Adbusters aims to take on Nike at their own game, by selling unionized, fair wage sneakers with the hopes of gaining marketshare that rival's Nike's multimillion dollar ad machine.posted by mathowie at 10:29 AM PST - 60 comments

One Day's Pay is a not-for-profit org that promotes September 11th as a "national day of voluntary service, charity, and compassion."
Why not take a few minutes or a few hours to help those in need? As an extension, we could all blog our efforts and share via trackbacks or links in the comments. In my mind, as good a way as any to commemorate a tragedy.posted by pinto at 9:43 AM PST - 7 comments

The Miracle Survivors - In Stairwell B of the North Tower, 16 people lived amid the avalanche of concrete and steel. But surviving was only the start of their struggle.
Everyone handles things differently. Some want to move on, others need to remember. Some thought that to commemorate 9/11, it might be appropriate to have a dedicated thread that would be a repository of links and comments. Miguel started such a thread for 9/11/2002. And for those who may not have read it, here is the Mefi 9/11/2001 thread.posted by madamjujujive at 12:04 AM PST - 49 comments

Many MeFites have mentioned they love emusic. Today, I found out that the former General Manager was Dave Allen, one of the founding members of Shriekback and Gang of Four. He has a “new” site, oebase, which has a great selection of CDs and DVDs (for sale), a music (industry) blog, and a bunch of free mp3s.posted by dobbs at 9:32 PM PST - 4 comments

And no, none of the reasons are because of awful movies like Jingle All the Way or Junior.
Real reasons like the fact that he's a chauvinist, his father was a Nazi, he used to run the President's Council on Fitness and now admits to using steroids to win bodybuilding competitions, he has no plan on how to fix the state's budget issues just that he's gonna clean house. Or the fact that he made up the story about gang raping a black woman for the Oui interview back in 77' (think about that, he lied about participating in a gang rape, that's pretty demented behaviour).
Interesting reading and damned scary if this is the next governor of the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world.posted by fenriq at 2:31 PM PST - 41 comments

Synthetic Nerves, the site lists a couple of applications any other ideas? I want my computer enhanced brain, and a running video dump in several spectrums.posted by sourbrew at 11:20 AM PST - 3 comments

Fascinating as this seemingly counterintuitive discovery (sound carrying through space) is, the real significance lies in that these "sound waves" may explain why the superhot gases in such regions aren't cooling down and forming more stars.posted by GreyWingnut at 8:20 AM PST - 19 comments

Wisconsin cheese names in jeopardy The European Union is trying to impose restrictions (a la champagne) on what you can call certain cheeses that are produced in locations other than their 'native' region. Is this purely an economic ploy, or is there some merit behind it?posted by pizzasub at 8:10 AM PST - 39 comments

Two civil liberties groups sued Pennsylvania's attorney general, saying Attorney General Mike Fisher has created a "system of secret censorship" that goes unchecked by state courts. You can read The Law, a Release from The CDT, a News Story, or the CDT Page for more, or maybe use the Tattle Tale form to report Child Pornography (only for PA residents).
According to the lawsuit, the only way most Internet providers can block access to a particular Web site is to block its server computer, which may be shared with unrelated Web sites - preventing subscribers from viewing any of those sites (it's a Vhosts thing). And since such blocks can apply to all of a provider's subscribers, not just Pennsylvanians covered by the law, this law has been seen as troublesome since day 1.posted by Blake at 5:30 AM PST - 2 comments

Ever been to Merlefest? If you're a returning guest, Merlefest tickets are now available online. (more inside). Wear your overalls and enjoy some good 'ol "Americana." ( More info inside)posted by bradth27 at 12:20 AM PST - 4 comments

September 9

Edward Teller dies What would it be like to have your obit identify you as "Father of the Atom Bomb?" "Teller exerted a profound influence on America's defense and energy policies, championing the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs, nuclear power and the Strategic Defense Initiative...."posted by Lynsey at 11:26 PM PST - 22 comments

RIAA settles with a disadvantaged, now sick, 12-year-old girl. Read CNN's brief of the settlement and the feel-good synopsis by Gary Sherman, president of RIAA. OR, head over to the UK to learn that the 12-yr-old has been getting sick from anxiety, feels terrible for the fragile artists and lives in a rent control apartment with her family. I'd take the UK's cynicism over the US slant anyday.posted by omidius at 9:01 PM PST - 46 comments

Kenny VS. Spenny is a new reality tv show on Canada's CBC network. The premise? Two friends "battle" in a different competition each week to see who is "better". What types of competitions? Who can lose the most weight. Who will be the first to use their arms. Who can make the most money in three days... [more inside]posted by dobbs at 3:50 PM PST - 9 comments

Almost two years later and they're still finding remains from the World Trade Center. Hopefully one more family gets a call they've been waiting for/dreading that their loved one is found.posted by MediaMan at 2:17 PM PST - 6 comments

The oil refineries decided that they weren't making quite enough money so they decided to gouge California by nearly tripling their profit margin to $.69 a gallon.

My response is to say I'll vote for which gubernatorial candidate that's going to go after the corporate greedheads who seem to think its perfectly acceptable behaviour to bleed people because they can.

Don't just stand there - Bustamante!Arnold Schwarzenegger would lose to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante by five precentage points if the election were held today, according to a Field Poll of likely voters released today. Margin of error: 4.5%. How useful are polls like this when there are so many undecided factors still floating about?
Poll tabs and analysis here.[PDF]posted by GriffX at 12:52 PM PST - 38 comments

All US Air Passengers to be Profiled, and 1% Will be Banned from Boarding. In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States. Up to 8 percent of passengers who board flights will be coded "yellow" and pulled for additional screening. An estimated 1 to 2 percent will be labeled "red" and will be prohibited from boarding. These passengers also will face police questioning and may be arrested. [More Inside....]posted by Dunvegan at 11:01 AM PST - 97 comments

"Murder all journalists, I beg you!" That's just one of the strange phrases that have appeared on tiles embedded in roads in locations as diverse as Cleveland and South America. The tiles also contain cryptic phrases regarding Stanley Kubrick and English historian Arnold Toynbee. Strange stuff.posted by hipnerd at 10:24 AM PST - 17 comments

Happy birthday Google! Today's edition of the Guardian congratulates Google on its 5th birthday 5 years ago - and suggests the company go mutual rather than public to ensure quality over shareholder pressure for profits and be "a living monument to the founding principles of the internet". Good plan?posted by Pericles at 7:47 AM PST - 8 comments

Iraq Estimates Were Too Low, U.S. AdmitsThe White House acknowledged Monday that it substantially underestimated the cost of rebuilding Iraq and that even the additional $87 billion it was seeking from a wary Congress would fall far short of what is needed for postwar reconstruction. Administration officials said President Bush's emergency spending request - which would push the U.S. budget deficit above the half-trillion-dollar mark for the first time - still left a reconstruction funding gap of as much as $55 billion. Reserve Tours Are Extended With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and the Bush administration still searching for additional international peacekeepers, the Army has ordered thousands of National Guard and Army Reserve forces in Iraq to extend their tours in the country to a year, months longer than many of the troops had anticipated, Army officials said yesterday. $87,000,000,000 + $55,000,000,000=$142,000,000,000One year tours for National Guard and Army ReservistsHope you enjoyed your meal--here's your bill...posted by y2karl at 7:14 AM PST - 93 comments

Tax the tan? a new study shows more than a quarter of white female teenagers have had at least three sessions in a tanning booth, Forty-seven percent of 18- and 19-year-old females made three or more visits. The overall rate for boys was far lower, around 7 percent. Note to teenage boys: Go hang out at the tanning booth.
Concerned dermatologists made a bold proposal: Slap a $20 tax on every visit to the tanning salon for people under 18, after all, we tax Smokes for just the same reason.
Needles to say The Indoor Tanning Association (Don't miss the upcoming ITAWorld Expo, Huey Lewis and the News show included!), which represents the nation's 6,000 tanning salons, denounced the idea, noting that moderate exposure to ultraviolet light may actually promote health. UV light helps the body absorb vitamin D, which is important in the development of bones. After all Nicotine 'reduces Alzheimer's symptoms'. Are taxes a good behavior modification tool?posted by Blake at 4:43 AM PST - 26 comments

September 8

Homeland Security: falling apart before its even built. The bastard child of Bush's 'small government' ideology and Congress's desperate attempt to secure the nation is unsurprisingly falling apart for lack of support both in funds and from the executive branch. Isn't something worth doing and this important, worth doing well?posted by skallas at 11:08 PM PST - 14 comments

"One call to AAA and your worries are over," says the brochure. That's what Melissa Gosule's family thought, but she was kidnapped and murdered during the hours it took for AAA to get its act together. So the family is suing. Do they have a case? After all, she's not the only one who's waited and waited and waited and waited for multiple hours after calling AAA. I oughta know. [more inside]posted by soyjoy at 7:30 PM PST - 24 comments

IBM serves download of new Linux ad. IBM launched a TV ad this week featuring a nine-year-old boy named Linux. To their credit, they have enabled some computer users the ability to watch the ad as a download. Strangely, though, they don't make it easy to watch the spot on a Linux box. There's plenty of support for Closed Source operating systems and apps, but don't expect to view it with the popular Open Source movie viewer, xine.posted by tbc at 6:20 PM PST - 33 comments

U.S. Army Used Media Cover in Iraq for Own Ends which sounds like a big old bowl of yellow journalism but isn't really, at least I don't think so. It was more to refute the Iraqi Minister of Lies talking about the whooping the Iraqi war machine was delivering to the coalition forces.

The main issue that the reporters had was that they were only getting the one side of the story and not the Iraqi perspective.

But it raises some questions about the supposed objectivity of the media. Is this a proper use of them? To help achieve military goals? Or to try to avoid more unnecessary deaths?posted by fenriq at 1:51 PM PST - 15 comments

The Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal "...to provide a searchable registry of objects in U.S. museum collections that were created before 1946, and changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era (1933-1945)." Families who had art confiscated by the Nazis can search US collections for it here.posted by liam at 1:30 PM PST - 2 comments

Gretchen Whitney High is an incredible success ("People move to the Cerritos area so that their children can attend this school... And by move I don't mean from Los Angeles: They relocate from India, from Korea") story academically, especially considering its origins But there's always a price, typically exacted by the parents, who display the same good sense and no-pressure behaviors they've displayed at Little League and Pop Warner games. But no one's killed anybody over Whitney admission, at least that we know of. The story of Cecilia's art portfolio, though, will break your heart.
Humes offers larger lessons, too, about how to improve our schools. I am buying this book today.posted by mojohand at 8:27 AM PST - 31 comments

Harlem 1900-1940, a site full of pictures and history. The scope of this portfolio is Harlem from the years 1900-1940. Various elements of the history of the urban experience in Harlem's early days as the Cultural Capital of African Americans are represented here by graphic and photographic images from the Schomburg Center collection.posted by Ufez Jones at 8:23 AM PST - 3 comments

White house open to tours again to the public on September 16th-only by reservation that is. How do you get a reservation? Submit your full name, date of birth, social security number and a copy of a photo ID-to your member of Congress for a security "screening". Visit the house paid for by you.posted by omidius at 6:06 AM PST - 16 comments

Mark Ryden is to the iconic saucer-eyed urchins of the '60s as Salvador Dali is to Hickory Dickory Dock. His delicate palette, fine details and classical references offer compelling counterpoint to the deliciously disturbing imagery of les tykes terrible in collections such as "Blood: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow & Fear"; "Bunnies and Bees: Paintings Created to Illustrate DIVINE TRUTH in Accordance with the Secret Principles of SCIENCE AND SOUL"; and "The Meat Show: Paintings about Childen, God, and USDA Grade A Beef". Plus, they're kids - with big eyes!posted by taz at 4:39 AM PST - 25 comments

September 7

Labor Day's forgotten ones. "...there is one class of workers who are largely ignored during Labor Day celebrations, even as our country remains at war on multiple fronts: members of the U.S. armed forces."posted by skallas at 10:22 PM PST - 11 comments

The First Rule of Multibabel Club is you do not talk about MultiBabel Club(French & back:) The first rule of the club of Multibabel is you do not speak about the club of Multibabel.
(German & back:) The first guideline the association of Multibabel is not you speaks about the association of Multibabel.
(Italian & back:) Before the guide of reference that the association of Multibabel is not you speaks about the association of Multibabel.
(Portuguese & back) Before the guide of the reference that the association of MultiBabel is not you speak on the association of MultiBabel.
(Spanish & back:) Before the guide of the reference that is not the association of MultiBabel you speak in the association of MultiBabel.
(Japanese & back:) Multibabel club without having expressed, there is a first rule of Multibabel club.
(Chinese & back:) The Multibabel club has not been expressed, has the Multibabel club first rule.
(Korean & back:) The Multibabel the club under expressing is highland Anh and a Multibabel club first rule.posted by me3dia at 8:57 PM PST - 27 comments

They've booked arenas, and have an announcement scheduled for Tuesday. Simon and Garfunkel, together for their first tour since '93 (if they don't get into an argument first). I'd suggest those interested get a ticket for one of the early shows, just to be safe...posted by ehintz at 6:49 PM PST - 29 comments

Dr Richard Lord has shown in a controlled experiment that the extreme bass sound known as infrasound produces a range of bizarre effects in people including anxiety, extreme sorrow and chills -- supporting popular suggestions of a link between infrasound and strange sensations.
Here's the Reuters Story,
He's done some other cool stuff as well at the National Physical Laboratory.
I can't help but think of The Brown Note, am I so imature?posted by Blake at 6:34 PM PST - 16 comments

Why do so many scientists believe in God? "Modern science did not emerge 400 years ago to challenge religion, the orthodoxy of the past 2,000 years. Generations of thinkers and experimenters and observers - often themselves churchmen - wanted to explain how God worked his wonders. Modern physics began with a desire to explain the clockwork of God's creation. Modern geology grew at least partly out of searches for evidence of Noah's flood. Modern biology owes much to the urge to marvel at the intricacy of Divine providence. But the scientists - a word coined only in 1833 - who hoped to find God somehow painted Him out of the picture... So although the debate did not start out as science versus religion, that is how many people now see it. Paradoxically, this is not how many scientists see it."posted by gd779 at 5:57 PM PST - 54 comments

Streetart is a collaborative weblog for photos of DIY posters, guerilla stickers, home-made stencils, and etc." I'm pretty sure all those giant penises are prior art. That's pretty much one of the first things you're required to draw when you tease the waters of hilarious vandalism.posted by Stan Chin at 1:51 PM PST - 8 comments

"Gaydar Direct brings you the first electronic device that allows gay men and women to meet safe and discreetly!" Guess the inventor's never heard of the Internet. Oh, yeah, this gaydar? It vibrates. Links are safe, but standard pop-up warnings apply.posted by WolfDaddy at 12:48 PM PST - 19 comments

September 6

Gang Stories "The goal here is to tell some stories of what goes on behind the guns, drugs and crime in the headlines. These stories are the oral history of my old neighborhood. Figured it might do some good to write them."posted by jdroth at 9:41 PM PST - 9 comments

The BBC Is Looking For The Best Sandwich In The World: Can you help? Sandwiches are supposedly easy but, come to think of it, perfect sandwiches are actually quite difficult to invent and produce. Bread gets wet; lettuce wilts; flavours and textures clash. Personally, I like English tea sandwiches best; though the Mediterranean versions are a meal in themselves. But if you had to stake your life and reputation on one fulfilling and tastebud-enticing sandwich, which one would it be? To go.posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:43 PM PST - 63 comments

"Viking's is an all inclusive erotic adult fantasy resort located in the Caribbean with a full staff of the world's most beautiful and exotic escorts."posted by sharksandwich at 7:31 PM PST - 34 comments

Are bloggers the heir apparent of the independent weekly? Welch: For all the history made by newspapers between 1960 and 2000, the profession was also busy contracting, standardizing, and homogenizing. Most cities now have their monopolist daily, their alt weekly or two, their business journal. Journalism is done a certain way, by a certain kind of people. Bloggers are basically oblivious to such traditions, so reading the best of them is like receiving a bracing slap in the face. It's a reminder that America is far more diverse and iconoclastic than its newsrooms.posted by skallas at 7:10 PM PST - 4 comments

A Rare View of 9/11, Overlooked From the NY Times: "They did not even see the pale fleck of the airplane streak across the corner of the video camera's field of view at 8:46 a.m. But the camera, pointed at the twin towers from the passenger seat of an S.U.V. in Brooklyn near the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, kept rolling when the plane disappeared for an instant and then a silent, billowing cloud of smoke and dust slowly emerged from the north tower, as if it had sprung a mysterious kind of leak." I can't even look at the pictures, just too painful for me, but this will probably be a major development in the next week.posted by billsaysthis at 6:19 PM PST - 8 comments

Craig Blog launched today, the latest endeavor by Craig Newmark, the amiable founder of Craig's List, one of the most inarguably good things on the Net. Eight-and-a-half years ago, Newmark was a security analyst at Schwab. Inspired by The Well, he created his own community resource, a boon to anyone looking for a job, an apartment, a used DVD player, or... um, sex. This time it's personal.posted by digaman at 4:34 PM PST - 5 comments

Steam Trek - an enterprising individual has masterfully melded two classic SF genres, Star Trek and Steampunk. The result is a wonderful universe with a rich history where Her Majesty's Aether Ships explore the solar system and protect the United Kingdom of Planets. Long live Queen Victoria, and may her glorious reign continue as it has for the past 165 years! (preserved by Lunar Selenite technology captured from the evil Moon-dwellers).posted by adrianhon at 2:28 PM PST - 12 comments

Sausagemania We love a gourmet story.
I know we love em.The Brits love em.Even the Yarpies love em.Bit surprised this is a US site.I thought they were limited to a sort of badly produced chipolata type thing @ breakfast only.Get stuffing.
Via coolios.posted by johnny7 at 10:28 AM PST - 17 comments

A single photograph taken in 1913 of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké—the Santé Serigne Touba, founder of the Sufi sect known as the Mouride (Murid) Way, followed by millions in Senegal and elsewhere—when he was put under house arrest by the French, has provided remarkable consistency to the sect's iconography. Images of the cheikh: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and more. Story on an art exhibit and the web site of the exhibit, including more images of the cheikh. History of Bamba's life in French and in English. More on Muridism.posted by Mo Nickels at 7:50 AM PST - 4 comments

Thug 4 Life,"For this project I intend to transform myself into Tupac Shakur..." Expenses include tatoos, a case of Hennesy, a weight bench and plenty of marijuana. No mention of tanning booth costs.posted by cedar at 5:34 AM PST - 19 comments

Debunking The Debunkers? A few days ago I had posted a piece asserting that the Saudi royals, along with members of Bin Laden's family , were given hasty approval to flee the U.S. directly after 9/11, with the highest clearance from top govt officials. That post was "shot down" by comments stating that Snopes noted the falsity of that claim. Now it seems Snopes has reneged and Google has removed cache items about the story. See for yourself what seems to be taking place.posted by Postroad at 4:57 AM PST - 38 comments

Met by "howls of outrage" and questions about his sanity, Michael Meacher, the ex-Environment Minister for the UK, known mostly for his opposition to GMOs, and revelations about the less than honest and upright behaviour surrounding the issue, has spent some time thinking, free from the constraints of Ministerial duties.
"the PNAC blueprint of September 2000 states that the process of transforming the US into "tomorrow's dominant force" is likely to be a long one in the absence of "some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor". The 9/11 attacks allowed the US to press the "go" button for a strategy in accordance with the PNAC agenda which it would otherwise have been politically impossible to implement." - Commentary - Commentary - Commentaryposted by Blue Stone at 2:45 AM PST - 24 comments

"I think the word they are replacing is 'invention.' Only now we innovate, which is deliberately vague but seems to stop somewhere short of invention. Innovators have wiggle room. They can steal ideas, for example, and pawn them off as their own. That's the intersection of innovation and sharp business. " Cringley puts his finger on a crucial difference, touching not only on the core of ethics but on the connection to real progress.posted by weston at 5:44 PM PST - 9 comments

The Futile Pursuit of Happiness. ''Things that happen to you or that you buy or own -- as much as you think they make a difference to your happiness, you're wrong by a certain amount. You're overestimating how much of a difference they make. None of them make the difference you think. And that's true of positive and negative events.''posted by Tin Man at 4:33 PM PST - 31 comments

The Small World Project was an online experiment (sponsored by Columbia University) involving over 60,000 email users, developed to test Stanley Milgram's famous "six degrees of separation" hypothesis. In the 1960's Milgram tested his theory that members of any large social network would be connected to each other via short chains of intermediate acquaintances by sending small packets via the USPS to individuals in Nebraska and Kansas, with the hope that the packets would eventually reach the intended recipients in Boston. The 21st century Columbia project used email to attempt to verify Milgram's findings on a global scale, and to see if the length of the contact chains have shortened in the 'virtual' world. Project Description - Procedures - Initial Resultsas published in Science Magazine, August 2003posted by anastasiav at 4:13 PM PST - 7 comments

How To Be A Jug or String Band MVP - starting with guitar: It's all in tablature, by the way, something easy enough to understand. Three finger fingerpicking guitar is easy to learn--start with Mississippi John Hurt: Payday was the first song I ever learned. Of course, it's a cinch, being in Open D--but opentunings are a cinch, too. With open tunings, how about learning some slide guitar? Beyond John Hurt, slide or not, open or standard, , there are the ever expanding Fahey Tablatures at John Fahey.com, where Melissa keeps the flame burning ever brightly. There's Much More Within...posted by y2karl at 2:06 PM PST - 17 comments

Kir Bulychev died today. (Also here.) Those of us familiar with Russian sci-fi will always remember him for such masterpieces as Poselok (Those Who Survive) and a famous children's series Devochka s Zemli (The Girl from Planet Earth). More than just a writer, he was a profuse translator, East Asian researcher, and playwright. Over ten films were produced from his books and scripts. Almost all works are online in Russian, but I could find no online translations.posted by azazello at 10:54 AM PST - 9 comments

Bush signs a bill into law that very few people will have anything bad to say about. Most of those who would oppose the new law can't vote, anyway, being members of predatory prison gangs, so I think we're pretty much good on this one.posted by majcher at 9:25 AM PST - 51 comments

You're not from around here, are you? On Tuesday in Wellesley, MA a kindergartener was put on the wrong bus to go home from afterschool care. The boy is black, and the bus is for the Metco program, which buses minority kids from Boston to suburban schools. Random mixup, or racial bias at work? Much hand-wringing ensues.posted by serafinapekkala at 7:55 AM PST - 34 comments

Make-a-Quake is discovery.com's simple, fascinating and creepy Flash interactive in which you choose the ground quality and construction prevention method for your multi-story building, then select a quake magnitude before you "Begin Quake" to find out how your property fared. Make-a-Quake is a feature of the "San Francisco Earthquake of 1906" (also featuring a video gallery and audio slide show), a part of Discovery's "Unsolved History" series. Past Unsolved History features here.posted by taz at 7:08 AM PST - 19 comments

Know Your NeoCons. Already the name "NeoCon" is used as an invective from the Left. But who are they? Here are some of their faces, brief biographies, and information about what a NeoCon is, at least as how they define it.posted by kablam at 8:40 PM PST - 27 comments

RIAA to give file swappers amnesty. Provided they delete all unauthorized music files from their computers, destroy all copies (including CD-Rs) and promise not to upload such material in the future. Each infringing household member will have to send a completed, notarized amnesty form to the RIAA, with a copy of a photo ID. Those who renege on their promise will be subject to charges of willful copyright infringement.posted by riffola at 5:32 PM PST - 33 comments

If you've ever wanted to own a Subterranean Fortress in the Pacific Northwest but didn't want to spend 14 years digging out and building one, your opportunity has arrived at last, priced at only $259,000. Conveniently located underneath a nondescript suburban home, you can use the shelter for fun, play, or surviving nuclear holocaust. Or, if you've seen Silence of the Lambs, you may have other ideas for possible uses.posted by jonson at 2:45 PM PST - 33 comments

Is the American left regrowing its backbone? Kurtz: For hard-core libs who are angry about impeachment, Florida, the war, the budget deficit, the tax cuts, the "bring 'em on!" president, the Texas redistricting and the California recall, Dean and Franken, in different ways, provide a welcome sense of relief. Finally, someone out there who feels their pain! Politics as group therapy, maybe.posted by skallas at 2:17 PM PST - 30 comments

The Air Loom Gang were undercover Jacobin revolutionaries, bent on forcing Britain into a disastrous war with Revolutionary France; operating a device hidden in a London basement, they beamed their diabolical rays directly into the brain of James Tilly Matthews, who drew detailed technical diagrams of the device while confined at Bedlam. The spiritual father of all paranoid schizophrenics since, he had a fascinating set of delusions. [More inside.]posted by languagehat at 1:35 PM PST - 8 comments

WHO were you on September 11th? To paraphrase the political cliche, are you really different now from what you were two years ago? A collective blog project taking place in one week (of course) will try and answer that question.posted by clevershark at 8:01 AM PST - 60 comments

«Clearly, one of the most critical questions of the twenty-first century concerns why the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were not prevented. As I outline below, there are numerous aspects regarding the official stories about September 11th which do not fit with known facts, which contradict each other, which defy common sense, and which indicate a pattern of misinformation and coverup. The reports coming out of Washington do very little to alleviate these concerns.»
22 questions to chose from and decide which ones are nightmares of a conspiracy theorist and which ones must be answered.posted by acrobat at 7:30 AM PST - 70 comments

Behold the subtle hand of Karl Rove at work on the still distant 2004 election... Its 14 mos before the 2nd term elections and the numbers are fallingfast (unless you're talking to this guy)
What to do? Draw the ace up your sleeve, and start firing up the 70 million Christian fundies. BIGTIME.(note what state it happened in. Ain't that a coincedence?)
Doesn't it seem a bit odd to be foregoing the more traditional strategy of reelection on the merits and opting instead to simply rely on the Karl Rove approach, at least this early in the campaign? Note also, how it appears that someone is trying to again stack thedeck in states holding larger shares of electoral votes. (Coordinated events or is my tin foil hat just in need of a good polishing?)posted by Fupped Duck at 6:07 AM PST - 26 comments

Nerd Gym (43 pages o' flash) is about 80% hackneyed obvious jokes, but there's some gems here and there. Which is dissapointing, because I don't get enough of the "Cleaning the Spitten Coffee off of the Monitor" workout. It also has very little to do with driving a tricycle drunk or throwing a javelin limpwristed against the Alpha Betas.posted by Stan Chin at 12:02 AM PST - 7 comments

Sherman Austin started his 1-year prison sentence on Wednesday, about seven months after the Raisethefist.org shutdown. During his three-year probation after getting out, he'll be barred from “associating with any person or group that seeks to change the government in any way be that environmental, social justice, political, economic, etc.”. Democracy Now! spoke with him right before he joined the prison population.posted by gluechunk at 9:33 PM PST - 6 comments

Pull my finger. Despite my ambitions to be a sophisticate, I must confess that this is the most entertaining thing I've found on the Web in weeks. Flash fun, although it's not Friday.posted by hipnerd at 9:15 PM PST - 21 comments

Is Osama bin Laden an anti-American activist? Few newspapers would phrase it as such, yet many seem to print something similar when it's this guy: Paul Hill, a religious leader proud of his upcoming martyrdom, and expectant of his "reward in Heaven" for the deaths he brought for his cause. Is he or isn't he a terrorist? And if the answer is no, what reasons do/should the American media give? Nationality? Race? Religion?posted by XQUZYPHYR at 9:49 AM PST - 85 comments

Waiting in line won't help you. According to the New York Times, Ticketmaster plans to begin auctioning off the best concert seats to the highest online bidders. The paper says there would be no limit on how high prices could go - it would be simply a matter of how much people were willing to pay. So, with ClearChannel, the RIAA and Ticketmaster now officially boinking the fan base...what other methods can the music industry use to drive away fans?posted by dejah420 at 6:22 AM PST - 70 comments

A neato collection of Russian eBooks translated into English mostly for propaganda purposes, which while not in the public domain are available for non-commercial use after the fall of the Soviet Union and certain copyright peculiarities, as described here. The archivist says: The main aim of this collection is to preserve the work of translators and give some information to historians. But whatever the reason, there's some good reading here to be had.posted by chrisgregory at 4:31 AM PST - 6 comments

American values brought to you by the letters... In the Islamic world the USA doesn't appear to be making too many friends recently. But is it all a big misunderstanding? Perhaps the middle east simply need to learn more about American values. Who can teach them about American culture, morality, and cookies? You'd be surprised...posted by kaemaril at 4:28 AM PST - 16 comments

A SERIES OF ADS "Consider the following scenario: a series of TV ads begin to appear nightly immediately after the Republican convention is over next year. They will be negative ads. They will promote no Democratic candidate. They will therefore not be under the tight restrictions of the Federal Election Commission.

Each ad will begin with a video clip of President Bush's "Bring 'em on!" challenge. Then the screen will shift rapidly to the burned-out remains of a building or a Humvee. Underneath will be these words: a date, a location, and a death count.
Then a black screen with white print will announce: America needs a new policy.
There will be an ID of some kind: "Citizens for a Lasting Peace" or "Mothers to Stop the Bloodshed."

There will be no bodies on screen. There will be only bombed-out buildings and equipment.

Each ad will last no longer than 15 seconds.
There will be a new ad every nightposted by troutfishing at 9:56 PM PST - 49 comments

James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy: "I am very troubled by the fact that we went into Iraq and very troubled about how we're going to get out of Iraq.'' Recently ousted Army Secretary Thomas E. White, in his new book/Iraq blueprint concurs: "Clearly the view that the war to `liberate' Iraq would instantly produce a pro-United States citizenry ready for economic and political rebirth ignored the harsh realities on the ground." Is the rift between military and civillian leadership in the Pentagon growing?posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 7:08 PM PST - 19 comments

The smoking gun has the arrest report for Jeffery Lee the kid just arrested for releasing a variant of the blaster virus.
Without spoiling much it's safe to say the kids methods were idiotic , but it's a fascinating read on how the FBI caught this guy.posted by bitdamaged at 2:51 PM PST - 29 comments

Asteroid orbitsEnter the designation or name of any asteroid or comet, and a 3D orbit visualization tool will appear for that object.
If Chicken Little had this link he might have calmed down a little. Or not...Find out if your favorite asteroid is about to rock your world.posted by konolia at 1:07 PM PST - 5 comments

Explore the work of the father of the modern submarine.John P. Holland, an Irish-American born in 1841, designed and built many early submarines including the first in the U.S. Navy. The Irish Fenian Brotherhood’s Skirmishing Fund financed his early work, including the FenianRam, the imagined scourge of the British Navy. They eventually stole it from him but were confounded by its controls. Instead it was displayed in Madison Square Garden to raise funds for victims of the 1916 Irish Uprising.
Geocities: tread lightly.Site uses frames, use the first link.posted by putzface_dickman at 12:50 PM PST - 3 comments

A google search for kazaa lite now yields the following disclaimer (scroll to the bottom of the results page): In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 9 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint for these removed results.posted by totee at 8:20 AM PST - 35 comments

The Last Bastion Of Serious Sexual Discrimination: Booze! Do men and women really have different tastes when it comes to drinking? What does it all mean? Do girls really like girly cocktails? Do men hate sweet, fruity drinks? Are rye and malt whiskeys, cognac, red wine and beer resolutely masculine? Are gin, cocktails, liqueurs, white wine and champagne eternally feminine? Is vodka neutral? Is a gin and tonic always truly gay? Is tequila bisexual? Too neat? Perhaps. I wonder whether guy booze, girl booze and gay booze can ever be satisfactorily mapped out...posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:10 AM PST - 96 comments

Since Roman Abramovichbought Chelsea FC at the beginning of July, he has spent over £111.15m on eleven new players prior to yesterday's transfer deadline. Some think that attempting to buy success in football (soccer) in this way is tantamount to cheating. This has really shaken things up in the genteel world of football - but is football still 20-30 years behind US sports? (salary caps, etc.)posted by daveg at 6:33 AM PST - 42 comments

The strangest robbery. A pizza delivery man delivers a pizza to a "remote location." Later he's found robbing a bank, claiming someone else is making him do this and that person put a remote controlled bomb around his neck. The pizza man gets caught and his head shortly explodes in front of the police. Now one of his friends and co-worker is found dead. It doesn't get much weirder than this. Semi-graphic video in story.posted by skallas at 2:22 AM PST - 86 comments

Near Earth Objects A newly discovered 1.2 km wide asteroid has been given a Torino hazard rating of 1. Astronomers will continue to observe the space rock carefully to determine its orbit more accurately. [link via BBC Radio 5]<posted by Frasermoo at 1:14 AM PST - 15 comments

Sick on the Inside. Published in Harper's August 2003 issue but not online, the full text of Wil S. Hylton's exposure of the medical conditions in United States prisons has been put on the web by the Wrongful Death Institute with the author's permission. The gravity of the situation for more than 2 million people behind bars can hardly be exaggerated.

"We have almost 30 percent of our prison population in Texas infected with hepatitis. That’s not so different from the numbers you see in the Dark Ages with the plague."
...
"[Correctional Medical Services] is an HMO with a captive audience," says David Santacroce, the professor who is spearheading the Michigan lawsuit. "The fewer patients they treat, the more money they make."

"I am an American, I am a Muslim and I vote." That was one of the themes at the Islamic Society of North America convention this weekend, and Muslim leaders, who endorsed George Bush in 2000, may be looking elsewhere as a result of the government's actions against Muslims since 9/11. There are plans to register 1 million new Muslim voters, out of an estimated 2 to 6 million population. Until recently, the plight of the Palestinians dominated political discussion among American Muslims. But Muslim leaders say they must now be pragmatic as they seek greater influence in government.
A newly-energized U.S. Muslim population up for grabs--but would their endorsement be a liability in our current climate?posted by amberglow at 11:16 AM PST - 18 comments

Dutch government is distributing cannabis as a prescription painkiller to pharmacies to treat chronically ill patients. The Netherlands are the first country to supply the drug itself, in accordance with United Nations rules on narcotics. This Radio Netherlands article contains an interview with an American expatriate who is now a licensed supplier.posted by prolific at 8:37 AM PST - 26 comments

"This is not what Saddam attributes to himself."This? What is This? According to the BBC and Al Jazeera, This is the assassination of Iraqi Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, the source of far more mourning amongst the Shiite community than, say, the death of Uday and Qusay Hussein. Apparently, Saddam pointed out how quickly the West rushed to judgment against him, then denied he had anything to do with the bombing. CNN and the Associated Press concur with that assessment, though they do not use the above (translated) passage in their report. And that would be it, save for the BBC providing a full text translation of the primary source for the story. A slightly larger excerpt:

[The invaders say without evidence that some of my supporters were responsible.]
Saddam Hussein is not the leader of the minority or a group, with whom he is affiliated or who are affiliated. He is the leader of all the great Iraqi people - Arabs and Kurds; Shias and Sunnis, Muslims and non-Muslims. Saddam Hussein does not attribute this saying to himself. This[emphasis added] is what was decided by the great Iraqi people themselves in free, public elections.

Contextual shift between translations has always been a contentious issue, but precisely how does the message "I am not just the ruler of a few shattered remnants of Iraqi society" get warped into "I did not order the death of this man"? The two messages are, after all, mutually exclusive. The only thing that's clear is that it's unlikely this was a militarily-sourced obfuscation; Heatley's comments on CNN clearly address the obvious interpretation. Thoughts?posted by effugas at 8:14 AM PST - 16 comments

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